This tenth in a series of posts on Star Trek: The Exhibition; now open at the Detroit Science Center (http://www.detroitsciencecenter.org/) until Sept. 7, 2009; focuses on the Starship filming models on display. With the exception of the first 3 photos, all of the images shown below were taken from a Media CD that was provided to the press covering the event's Opening Day in Detroit. As such, the filming models are shown as they were displayed at the San Diego Air and Space Museum in California - the initial venue for The Exhibition. In most cases, the models are presented in a similar fashion in Detroit, with minor rearrangement.
I should note that pictures truly do not do justice to the sensation one feels when standing in the presentation room that is filled with these elaborately detailed and, often, spacious starship "miniatures". To provide a sense of scale on some of the very largest filming models that were created; I resurrected a couple of photos of the DS9 spacestation and the U.S.S. Enterprise-A models as seen during the 2006 Christie's 40 Years of Star Trek pre-auction showing at Rockefeller Plaza, New York with observers standing nearby. Several of the models in the Exhibition are of comparable size ... I would estimate a breathtaking 4 to 5 feet in length. The third photo from the top is one that I took in Detroit which perhaps gives some feel for the overall scale of some items in the room.
Startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com was allowed to photograph the exhibition on Feb. 14th, 2009 and Feb. 21st, 2009 and is presenting posts on some of the exciting TOS-related components of this comprehensive collection - which features screen used costumes, props, starship filming models and set recreations that span all 5 Star Trek television series and 10 feature films. Many thanks to the staff of the Detroit Science Center for their kind assistance; with special recognition to Kelly Fulford, Kerri Budde, Amanda Jackson, and Todd Slisher for their outstanding support.
The introductory post on Star Trek: The Exhibition which provides a general overview of the event can be seen at: http://startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com/2009/02/star-trek-exhibition-beams-into-detroit.html
And now, the models.
Similar "miniatures" at Christie's in New York, 2006 ...
Star Trek: The Exhibition ...
A closeup view of the elaborate detail incorporated into a filming model of the Borg Cube used in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) ...